Claude returns at WR, but CB Austin to sit out '17

Jeremy Brevard/USAToday

After missing all of spring practice wide receiver Steven Claude returned to practice as Wake Forest opened camp on Friday. Claude's news was tempered by the departure of Dionte Austin who as a junior was expected to compete for a starting spot and was a key contributor at cornerback. Austin is sitting out the season for personal reasons while Claude is returning after doing the same back home in Florida. The talented defensive back hails from Maryland.

“(Austin) was a guy who was in the two-deep who we were counting on,’’ Clawson told the Winston-Salem Journal. “But he’s got to take care of some things, and we understand those things. That’s part of life, and that’s part of football. That’s part of every level of football.”

Former Mississippi State defensive back Cedric Jiles arrives as a graduate transfer and his presence is a key with Austin missing the 2017 season. Freshmen Coby Davis and Ja'Sir Taylor are two new faces along with Jiles that could contribute this fall along with returning players Amari Henderson and Essang Bailey.